Chapter 9/12 (+epilogue)

Stiles still hadn't gotten the courage to head back to the Hale house, uncertain of how the conversation Derek and he ought to have would turn out and unwilling to take the risk just now. He knew he was only delaying the inevitable but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't make it last forever but, for a few hours, he could still pretend everything was going to be alright, even though his very first relationship was on the verge of ending. He had known for quite a while that they wouldn't be endgame, so to speak, but it didn't mean he wouldn't have liked for it to last some more, at the very least until the end of the summer vacations. Maybe then, with school picking up, he would have had something else to focus on.

Unfortunately, for once, it appeared that Derek had been more impatient than him to have answers to their questions and he showed up only a few hours after Stiles got back from Lydia's. As usual, he came straight to his room – and maybe Stiles should begin closing his window when he didn't feel up to visitors. Derek took one look at Stiles and he realized that something was very wrong.

"What happened?" he half-asked, half-demanded, worried.

Stiles shook his head. He wasn't ready at all and, for the very first time, he found himself wishing Derek would have stayed away for a little while at least. Still, he could take some time to gather his thought while Derek explained how things went on his side.

"Later. First, tell me how it went with Chris," Stiles asked.

Derek frowned, not liking the change of subject. However, he knew he could humor his boyfriend for a little while and they did need to talk about it anyway so he could begin. After all, it was the reason he had come here in the first place.

"Alright," Derek shrugged. "I told him I would make him officially part of the pack once he had thought about it. He knew pretty much everything it would entail from start, but I preferred to go over everything once again. He has heard the hunter side of things, mostly, so I didn't want any misunderstanding."

Stiles nodded. It had been a pretty smart thing to do. It would have been a pretty easy assumption to make that he knew everything but the teenager supposed that, after the problem which had occurred with Jackson, the last thing Derek wanted was another predicament like it on his hand, especially while the alphas were in town to judge them.

"He also told me about… what you found out last night," Derek added. "Before I had time to tell him anything..."

Stiles' breath caught. He hadn't known whether or not Chris had decided to tell Derek about that revelation but he hadn't thought however that, even if he had, it would be so soon. On the other hand, Stiles could see the intelligence of saying something before he became part of the pack, as to avoid any problems later on, like accusations of keeping secrets and all that jazz.

Stiles concentrated on Derek, who appeared slightly perturbed, probably from what he had learnt. He just hoped it hadn't changed anything in his mind. Though, apparently, if he had decided to ask Chris to join even after hearing it, he must not have been too angry or anything.

"You don't… blame him for the fire," Stiles still hazarded a question and Derek's head whipped up, an incredulous look on his face.

"He was a kid!" he said, indignant that Stiles would even think that because, yes, he may not have shown too much faith in the Argent and their methods, but that didn't mean he was unreasonable enough to place the blame on a innocent.

In case of abuse, there was no way in hell he could blame the victim, especially when said person was underage at the time of the facts. He wasn't a monster.

"I just… I guess it's strange to think I'm not the only one feeling guilty about that," Derek said, frowning.

Stiles sighed because that was ridiculous. He shouldn't be feeling guilty about that and he decided to throw his own words back into his face. Maybe that would have some effects.

"You were a kid," he said with a pointed stare and Derek's face dropped.

"I know. It doesn't make it an easier. That's enough talking about that. We need to wait for his answer now," he explained as he finally sat down on the bed, stopping the pacing he had done up to now. "What happened between you and Lydia?"

Stiles swallowed because that was it, he couldn't make it wait until later anymore. He had to give the answer and it was going to hurt, he just knew it.

"She found out what Melissa's place in our pack would be," he said, hoping that Derek wouldn't necessitate for him to be into more details to understand what it meant for them, because he didn't know if he would have the strength to do it.

Derek closed his eyes for a second as the moment he had been dreading since the very first time Scott had talked about his mother having strange dreams had finally come. Sometimes, he hated being right.

"Stiles, I'm… I'm sorry," he said, because there was nothing else left to say.

Stiles let out a huff because, seriously, he had been expecting something more than that.

"I would have preferred to hear it from you rather than Lydia," he said because that was the part that hurt him the most, really, that Derek wouldn't actually talk to him to tell him if he wanted to break their friendship. "You could have told me you didn't want us to continue. I know I can be kind of spazzy sometimes, but I would have understood."

He would have. He wouldn't have liked it, but he would have understood. It would have been ridiculous to continue with a relationship if both of them weren't on board with it. Stiles knew that it could only hurt more in the long run.

"I know I should have. I wanted… I just really wanted it to work, Stiles," Derek said before he went on, trying to explain himself. "I guess I just can't…"

Stiles' eyes narrowed and then he understood what Derek meant.

"Oh… Kate," he said. "That's why you can't, because I'm only…"

"You're seventeen, Stiles and I'm six years older than you. I know it's not the same," Derek said, anticipating the argument. "I know we're not doing anything wrong, even if the law says otherwise, because we're not hurting anyone. I just can't stop thinking about it. I don't know, it was fine for a while but now it just feels…"

"It feels wrong," Stiles finished for him. "Derek, don't you think that maybe the reason it feels wrong has nothing to do with Kate at all? Look, you were attracted to me and you like me but, with time, maybe you just realized you weren't in love with me and that's why it feels so wrong to you, nothing to do with my age."

Derek stayed silent but then he nodded.

"Maybe. I love you," he said and it was something that Stiles hadn't heard in a very long time, but sincere and he smiled because he knew everything was going to be alright now.

"So do I, but you can love someone without being in love. I think we both hoped that we were," he said, looking down for a second before refocusing on his… friend. "I think we've both known for a while that it wasn't the case. I mean, when you look back, I think most of our interaction we've had the last few weeks were more platonic than anything else."

Derek nodded. Stiles was right, they hadn't really been acting like boyfriends for quite some time now. They were comfortable together, extremely so, but as very close friends. Now that he did look back, he knew he should have realized it sooner.

"I guess you're right," he admitted. "If you had noticed, why not tell me?"

Because Stiles didn't look as if it was something new, something he had just noticed and Derek himself had problems to see if, even if it was about his own feelings.

"I think I was afraid," Stiles said. "Because I didn't want to be kicked out of the pack or just at the fringe. I didn't want the wall that had been there before to come back."

It was still something he was terrified of, and Derek shook his head vehemently at the thought because that was something that could never happen. They had been through way too much for that to ever be the case.

"Stiles, you're absolutely indispensable to the pack. You're the one who basically brought all of us together, you're the one who made sure we had an alliance with the hunters, you're the one who accepted all our members and tried to include them. You could never be kicked out, unless you decided to leave willingly and I'm pretty sure everyone would try to stop you, me included. You're my best friend," Derek finished, looking down and blushing slightly because he had never put himself on the stage like that and it had been pretty mushy.

Stiles' eyes almost tore up because he had no idea he was so well considered in the pack. He, of course, knew he contributed and they all considered him as a friend, but he had never realized how much the others loved him for it. And hearing Derek, of all people, say he was his best friend, that was something he had never expected.

He flung his arms around Derek in a spontaneous outburst because he just couldn't help it. Besides, even if they were breaking up, that was normal friend behavior. Well, at least it was normal friend behavior when you were Stiles. Derek hugged him back and sniffed at his neck, knowing the smell would soon change, as it wouldn't be so entwined to his own.

"Guess this is kind of goodbye," Stiles said, breaking the embrace and Derek surprised him by taking his lips in a sweet kiss, barely a brush of lips against his.

"Goodbye to a lover, hello to a friend," he said with a small, truthful smile. "I'll leave you alone for a while. I think you need it. So do I."

Stiles nodded and, just like that, Derek was gone and the text time they would see each other, they would be nothing more than friends. Luckily, that wasn't such a bad thing. It still hurt to have his first ever relationship ending and he wished he could tell his dad, have him comfort him as he had always imagined it would happen. Of course, that couldn't happen. He closed his eyes tightly. He knew where to go.

Stiles arrived at the Argent house, not feeling especially better just yet but with his head straight, calmer than before. He knew he shouldn't be there at the moment, shouldn't be coming to complain about the end of a months-long relationship to the man who just had his wife of more than twenty years asking for a divorce but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to be all alone and didn't feel like being around people his own age at the moment. He knew they would be all very nice and understanding but, quite frankly, he didn't feel up to dealing with them and their questions.

He rang the bell and waited, fidgeting, for a little while. Less than a minute later, the door flung open and he saw the surprise register on Chris' face at seeing him there. Still, the man didn't waste time ushering him inside.

"Are you coming to ask about the talk I had with Derek?" the hunter asked, not seeing any other reason for Stiles to come see him so soon after their last meeting.

Stiles shook his head because, no, it really wasn't the reason he was there at all. If that had been his motivation, he wouldn't have come so soon after that particular conversation, to give Chris the time to decide by himself what he wanted to do and not influence his decision in anyway, even though Stiles was more than adamant the answer to the question Derek asked should be yes. Still, it had to be Chris' choice and no one else so, unless Chris was the one to ask him for his opinion, he would stay silent on the subject.

"No, he told me. Well, the broad lines at any rate. No, I just… I didn't want to be alone right now and I suppose I wanted to be with an adult."

Now that came as a surprise to Chris and he frowned because Stiles didn't seem to be his usual hyperactive self. He gathered that something must have happened. He led Stiles into his living room, a hand circling his biceps to basically drag him there and the fact that Stiles didn't even comment on it didn't seem like a very good thing. The teenager went willingly and sat down on the couch, staying pretty silent, which was another clue that something was definitively not right.

"Tell me what happened," Chris demanded.

Stiles shrugged, knowing it would seem both pathetic and childish.

"Nothing, really. Derek and I broke up… I guess it was a long time coming," Stiles didn't go any further.

He really didn't feel like developing the point anymore than that he didn't want to whine about this, especially not to Chris but the hunter didn't appear very pleased with the shortness of the answer.

"Why? You didn't seem to have problems?" he asked, wondering if he had been so focused on what was going on in his own life that he had missed something that big.

Stiles snorted.

"We weren't exactly what you could call having problems actually. It's just… our interactions were becoming more and more platonic, more than anything else. We didn't fight or anything, it just… ended. We're better off as friends, I suppose."

Stiles tried to shrug it off, as if it was nothing and, in a few days, it probably would be but, right now, not so much. And Chris had been a teenager once, it was that long ago that he couldn't remember the kind of pain Stiles must have been feeling at the moment.

"I'm sorry," he said, sympathetic, squeezing his tight for a second before taking away his hand. "You're going to be okay?"

Stiles smiled at him, a bit sadly, but far from appearing as if it was the end of his world.

"Yeah," he assured, truthfully. "I guess I'm going to mope a few days…. Well, if I even have the time to because I suppose we should be preparing ourselves to act soon, but I'm going to be fine. First relationship."

"Sorry I didn't realize it was happening," Chris apologized and Stiles snorted.

"I think you had more important things to worry about than my relationship status. Plus, to be fair, I don't think that even Derek had realized it was happening and I was burying my head in the sand, so, yeah, not surprising you didn't notice anything."

Chris raised his eyebrows but had to concede the point. It would have been slightly difficult for him to see through it considering the circumstances.

"Hope you don't mind me coming here?" Stiles still asked because, really, he must have had enough to deal between both his problems and Allison confiding in him too… well, okay, Allison probably didn't have any problems to confide when it came to Scott, mostly because the boy was so totally gone on her it was pretty pathetic to witness.

"After last night?" Chris asked, incredulous because, really, after what Stiles did for him, it would be pretty ungrateful of him to have problem helping the kid out or, most likely, keeping him company as he dealt with it on his own.

Stiles shrugged but stayed silent because he simply had no idea what to answer to that and he didn't especially want to talk about all these things. He just wanted to be with someone for a little while, someone who knew what had happened because he didn't feel like telling his father another lie and, considering the age gap between him and Derek and the fact he was underage, he couldn't have confided in the Sheriff without the man getting his shotgun ready.

Chris, realizing Stiles didn't want to continue on this line of questioning, turned to the other problem they were dealing with at the moment.

"So you think I should say yes to Derek?" he asked and Stiles brightened immediately because, as he had decided, if Chris were to ask for his opinion, he would give it without fail.

"Yes!" he exclaimed empathically and Chris looked pretty amused at his enthusiasm, but also pretty touched. "I mean, it would be great. For once, more adults would be better and, well, you would stop having all these nightmares probably and Allison would love having you part of the pack because, even if you're helping – and helping a lot, it's not the same as, you know, being actually part of the family," Stiles babbled as if he was trying all he could to convince the man, which wasn't exactly needed.

"Okay, okay…" Chris laughed, cutting the speech Stiles was still enouncing. "I get it, I should join. Guess it's a good thing I told Derek everything if I'm really doing it."

"Yeah, totally," Stiles approved with a million-watt smile and he went back into the conversation, with eagerness.

Scott came back home alone, after leaving Allison in front of her house, a bit surprised to see Stiles' jeep in the driveway but he knew that his best friend had been spending some time with Allison's dad lately and he supposed it was what had happened today. He would have to ask Stiles but he didn't know if he would get an answer as his friend was becoming more and more secretive with him.

He let himself in the house and was taken aback when he saw there was light in the living room. Normally, his mother should have been in bed, not because it was especially late, but because her shift was going to begin in a few hours time and, generally, when that was the case, she was making sure to sleep a few hours beforehand to be ready.

"Mom?" he called out, hoping everything was alright, hesitantly making his way towards the light.

"In here!" she called back from her place, not bothering to get up but, instead waiting for her son.

Scott went there and advanced cautiously up until he was standing in front of her, hesitating and concerned all at the same time. Things didn't get better once he saw the absolute resolute look on her face.

Now, it was true that Scott had spent quite a lot less time with his mother since he had been bitten, especially considering they had already a lot of problem getting together for a long time because of the hours she kept at the hospital. However, it didn't mean that he didn't know her extremely well. After all, they only had each other since his father had left and that meant that they were closer than most parents and children. And he knew exactly what that look meant.

Once his mother had taken a resolution, she kept to it, no matter what anyone else around her would tell her. It was kind of something that had passed onto Scott himself, he knew, so he also knew that trying would only do more harm than good. That state of mind was usually represented by the look she now sported on her face and Scott knew that, whatever she was going to say, it was going to be pretty final.

"Sit down, Scott," she said, indicating the chair in front of her and it didn't even come to Scott's mind to disobey her.

He sat down, keeping his eyes on her and trying not to show how nervous he was, trying not to show that his whole future would be decided because he just knew that, whether or not the answer to the question was yes, it would mean a lot, one way or another.

"You want to know if I want to be part of the pack?" she asked because it was true, Scott had never actually said the words.

Scott looked sheepish because that was the one proof that Isaac, Allison and he hadn't been all that subtle with their questions and talks about the pack. Of course, he had never really had any illusion that his mother wouldn't know about his intention but having her say it so matter-of-factly was kind of embarrassing.

He nodded, though, telling his mom she was right.

"That's what we would like, yes. And we think your dreams are caused because of that, because you should be a part of the pack. It's the magic the alphas put on the town," he explained briefly because they hadn't actually told the woman about that.

She raised an eyebrow, telling her son they would probably be talking about his withholding these information soon, but that wasn't what they needed to talk about right now.

"Have you thought about it?" Scott asked, mostly a formality as he was certain she was going to tell him her answer.

"I have," she acquiesced. "And I probably will say yes, but I need something first."

"Whatever you want, mom," Scott agreed eagerly without even knowing what it was because he would have done absolutely anything to have her say yes.

"I want a reunion with your whole pack," she said and it was without question that the reunion would happen, she would accept nothing less.

Scott nodded, agreeing because he knew there was no other way to convince his mother. He took his cell phone and typed a quick text to Derek, telling him about it and they wanted in companionable silence until the answer came.